Seas
by BlackBee
Summary: Captain Kurama is an infamous pirate. Naruto is a mermaid. They meet and an adventure happens. Warning: Yaoi KyuuNaru.


Ta-da! Here is the new story that won in the poll!

From one completed story onto starting a new one lol. This story was supposed to be up last night but the 'select category' was fucking up on me. Sorry.

This story was actually inspired by a cruise I went on. THere's nothing quite like sailing in the ocean and seeing nothing but the blue water for _miles :). _And then there was this show with _beautiful_ music and I was so inspired that all I could think of was mermaids and sea life haha. This eventually developed into this story :D!

**NOTE: **Like in October 10th and Cheater Cheater the tailed beasts match the gender of their jinchuuriki. I mean I know that Kurama, Gyuki, and Shukaku are obviously guys but with the others I can't help but see them as the same gender at their jinchuuriki. I guess it's because we don't know much about them so they I don't see genders yet in canon. But once they get genders then I'll stop with the 6 boys 2 girls thing(depending haha).

Okay that's really the only warning I have. Please see the bottom A/N for the specifics and stuff.

So please enjoy!

* * *

Rough and tough, that's a pirate's life.

Murderin' and whores, that's what they do.

Beer and fish, that's what they consume...all day every day. And quite frankly, Captain Kurama was sick of it.

Endless days on the ocean were a blessing for the sea lover who spent most of his childhood swimming in the big, great blue. But it was hell when you run out of food because one of your drunken subordinates found it oh-so _clever _to put the tiny mushroom, a treasure they had 'acquired' from two spineless bastards who thought they could pull a fast one on them(they really were spineless now), _with_ the food.

Since the mushroom was a drug of sorts and very invasive, they lost it all. Now they have been eating nothing but fish, fish, and more fish for the past couple of weeks. Occasionally a bird would show up as a delicacy for which Kurama was grateful, but his stomach was still itching for other food. And if that damn Shukaku, who got them in this mess and was now stuck on eternal fishing duty, catches just one more trout Kurama will eat it raw and then hurl on him.

It wouldn't be that hard. Hurling is what he felt like doing every time he looked at his plate. Blegh.

They needed to find some land, but his navigator Chomei says she can't see anything for miles. Maybe if she used her navigation tactics and binoculars for what they are _supposed_ to be used for instead of for searching out Saiken's ass, then they could've been somewhere by now.

Kurama let out a sigh as he sat on the deck alone. He then brushed his red bangs out of his eyes and pushed his captain hat up so that he could get a good look up at the bright, crescent moon and many stars. The sight was incredibly beautiful. With no artificial light he could see it all. But he couldn't enjoy it as much as he wanted to. The moon, unfortunately, reminded him of cheese. And the stars were berries. Cheese and berries, the thought was so mouth-watering right now.

The captain did a quick scan around of the area to make sure he was _really_ alone. If he really was alone, then he could ignore his dignity for a few seconds. With a groan he flopped onto his side and pulled his hat off exposing his spiky, red hair. Gnawing on it(the leathery taste wasn't good but at least the taste was new), he made a promise.

If they find land within the next week, he'll stay and actually enjoy it for a few days. He won't hurt or kill anyone, unless they piss him off and/or deserve it and/or he is high and/or drunk and/or thus can't control himself, until the very last day. And he'll keep his sticky fingers out of the bar and other official establishments(just the bar and other official establishments. People's houses are fair game though).

He makes no promises regarding his crew(he was their leader not their mother. Let them get into trouble if they will). But he will control himself if he could just have some really good food.

It is then that Kurama heard the door that led to the cabins burst open. He quickly sat up and attempted to look cool. Glancing over he could see from the frilly, light green, ladybug-printed, midriff-baring tank-top and short shorts pajamas it was Chomei. Her long Prussian blue hair with green, yellow, and orange tips, held back by a single black headband, swished from side to side as she practically bounced towards him.

Once in front of him she squatted and with the wide smile on her tan face and bright orange eyes, Kurama was happy to note he was about to hear some good news. But he kept his expression neutral and let out a cool, "What?"

"Oh my captain my captain, I bring you good news tonight!"

"Shukaku choked?" He guessed. Chomei let out a light, tingly laugh and to Kurama's confusion scooted next to him and laid her head on his chest.

"No no no my silly captain! I bring much better news than that! Tonight lucky number seven Chomei got verrrrry lucky."

Was his crew gambling again? Shit instead of whining about his stomach he should down there and win all of their winnings.

"And no," the young woman said looking up. "I'm not talking about gambling," she bopped her captain's nose with one of her fingers.

Chomei was the flirtiest of the bunch(which drove Matabi up the wall) and Kurama knew this. He knew it when he recruited the beautiful waitress of his favorite seedy bar as the seventh member of his crew. In fact, it was part of the reason she was recruited. Matabi was too prudish to use her feminine wiles to their advantage, but Chomei is sexy and she knows it and flaunts it when needed.

It isn't needed now, but hell it was fun Kurama must admit.

"Are you talking about something dirty?" He smirked. Chomei pouted in that cute way of hers.

"No. Saiken keeps rejecting me."

"Aww poor baby. How could he reject you?"

"I think he's gay. Could you throw him overboard for me? Please?" She whispered in his ear.

"Now, now Chomei you know Saiken has his use as a gunner. I can't throw him away because he refuses to fall into bed with you."

"Then," she said gliding her long fingers against his thigh. "Could you? Maybe? For old times' sake?"

"Mmmm," Kurama murmured leaning close to Chomei's face. "I could," he whispered. Chomei leaned closer but before their lips touched her captain spoke again.

"But."

She paused.

"I need that good news first," he finished before leaning away. The angry pout on her face made him smirk.

"Hmph," she huffed. "What kind of ship do I work on where my captain is more concerned with something else than me!?"

"Out with the news Chomei," Kurama said irritatedly. One thing Matabi has over the only other girl on the ship, is that the tall blonde was a lot less dramatic...Kurama frowned. Somewhat.

"Alright, alright," she rolled her eyes. "Konoha."

"What?"

"Konoha. A place. A big place. Very green with trees and leaves and forests, plenty of places for my rhinoceros beetles to play. Very thriving."

"Are you trying to say you found land?!" Kurama asked excitedly. At that Chomei smiled again.

"That is exactly what I'm trying to say my captain. There is a very nice island coming up several miles that way. We should recognize it as Fire Island. Most prominent about the island is a village we should recognize as Konoha, one of the five great villages in the pentagon of this big blue. It has a lot of things there Captain, _a lot_. The only issue I would have to say is that their police force is nothing to laugh at."

Who cares? He promised to control himself to the best of his ability for the cheese and berries. Chomei leaned closer.

"So now that I've told you..." Her voice got low.

"Wake everyone up! We've got work to do if we want to sail full speed towards Konoha," Kurama commanded standing up.

"Oh come on!" The navigator shouted in anger.

"Will a kiss shut you up?!" Kurama shouted. He was feeling a blend of good feelings caused by her news and at the same time annoyed by her outburst. He was impatient, but feeling good enough to find a peaceful way to resolve it.

"Yes actually," Chomei simply said flipping her hair.

Kurama leans down and plants a quick kiss on the corner of her lips. And when he straightens up he is annoyed to see she doesn't immediately do what she is told.

"Chomei!"

"I need more if you want me to go do what you want!"

That was very much the wrong response.

"I'll purposely tear you up then. One tear for each member of my crew that you didn't wake up," Kurama threatened.

Chomei's incredibly tan skin looked almost white at the thought.

"Yikes! My captain!" She hastily spoke and bowed before running off to do what she was told. The captain scoffed. Chomei is a bit too cheeky sometimes and a bit too used to getting what she wants. Although he was never bluffing when he did it, he didn't like threatening his crew members. But sometimes they just needed to be reminded of their place.

But at least she was finally doing her job. Kurama grins excitedly. Finally, they were heading to land and food!

* * *

Rough and tough, that was a mermaid's life.

Eating and swimming, that's what they do.

Fish...and everything else, that's what they consume. And Naruto loved it.

He loved the free life he lived. Well sort of free...As free as he could be being an honorable son surrounded by overprotective people. He did love his friends and bodyguards-in-training, but he wondered how the hell his parents could be more lenient and reasonable than them. The late Hokage Minato and his late mate Lady Kushina had always allowed their young son to wrestle sharks. Understandable as the strongest two mermaids must be powerful so that they can protect their pod. It's necessary for the son of such a powerful couple to learn early how to fight off competing predators.

Get that? _Understandable. Necessary. _Words that Sasuke and Kiba did not understand apparently. Naruto glared at his two friends/bodyguards-in-training as the medium-sized shark swam away.

"I could've handled it myself."

"Errr yeah Naruto," Kiba said sheepishly rubbing the back of his head while Sasuke crossed his arms. "We-we know that. But you see we have training that we have to do too you know?"

Naruto's bright orange tail whipped in annoyance. "But I'm supposed to be getting stronger! I have to if I want to win the position of Hokage back from Granny Tsunade!"

"You _do _know you weren't actually guaranteed the title of Hokage while your dad was alive right?"

"Yes I am aware," Naruto said through gritted teeth. Trust Sasuke to be a complete asshole and bring up a sore subject like that. Naruto was _well_ aware that being the son of the Fourth Hokage guaranteed him nothing other than these two as bodyguards for life and only a tiny advantage when it came time to fight for the title again. With the death of both of his parents several months ago, the orphaned Naruto lost what little advantage he had, but it didn't stop him from trying to get what he believed was rightfully his(not for long anyway).

The title had to be earned, not inherited.

"But the position of Hokage always goes to the strongest mermaid and that's gonna be me! I may even have to fight you guys for it and so I need to be stronger than you."

"Well thanks for telling us that!" Kiba shouted shaking his fist at one of his best friends.

"It's the truth," Naruto simply said crossing his arms.

"Whatever loser," Sasuke said rolling his eyes. "I'm not even interested in the title of Hokage so you can do what you want. I have to go home anyway."

"Why's that? Did mommy give wittle Sasu-chan a curfew?"

"At least I have one," and with a flick of his dark blue tail, Sasuke disappeared into the shadows of the water.

"Yeesh! That was low. Why are you even friends with the jerk?" Kiba asked Naruto, who was staring after Sasuke with an upset expression.

"Because Kiba, sometimes even we can balance each other out. And you know he's been a moody stick in the mud ever since his brother went," Naruto and Kiba both looked up. "Up there."

"How does someone even go 'up there'?"

"I dunno. Maybe you swim up there I guess," Naruto swam up a little. Kiba swam up next to him.

"You think? There's no water up there you know. If you jump out you fall right back down."

"But there can be."

"How do you know?" Kiba asked, his dark grey tail curling slightly in suspicion. Naruto faced away from him and shrugged.

"I heard it from someone," was the answer he gave. He wasn't about to tell his big-mouth friend the _truth_. Not yet anyway. The brunette boy didn't look like he really believed him but he thankfully let it go.

"Okay so there _might be_ there water up there. But _if_ that is true what I want to know is if you go up there, how do stay like Itachi did?" The grey-tailed merman asked.

"Well maybe you don't swim back down? Maybe you don't want to?"

"Why wouldn't you? There are those two...tailed...finned...things up there!"

"Man?"

"Yeah them. They would try and stop you won't they? They're weird aren't they?"

Naruto shrugged as if he wouldn't know for sure, but the truth is he did know. Mans were strange. They were weird. They were the oddest creatures Naruto has ever encountered. Naruto has yet to encounter a species, other than his own of course, with such a diverse array of characters, personalities, and reactions. The so many mans off of just this one island were so different from one another.

But that's what made them fun to mess with.

"They would try to kill us too I think. A few days ago I was hunting and one of them shot this sharp grey rock or something and stole my food. I was pissed and I raged the boat you know? I was pushing it and rocking it and shoving it and shouting 'give me back MY kill'! But they didn't give up and one of them picked up this barrel thing and aimed it right at me! But I swam away before the guy could shoot. A stupid small fry wasn't worth that."

"That's the stupidest story I've ever heard Kiba. If that really happened then you would've been gone."

"It SO happened! They thought I was a shark the entire time but it really happened! I was just too smart and fast for them so I could easily get away!"

"Right. You stared down man and his barrel straight in the face. You're such a shark Kiba."

Since there were no more sharks or other large creatures circling this area and Naruto wasn't hungry, the young blond started swimming back to the pod's place. Kiba immediately followed, ranting about his story.

"It's true! It's why my mom grounded me forever remember?"

"I could've sworn you were grounded because-"

"LIES! I was grounded because I nearly got killed!" Kiba's face was as red as coral as he pointed at Naruto accusingly. Naruto had to laugh and shake head. Kiba was always one for telling tall tales starring him. Everyone already knew that they either weren't true or greatly exaggerated. This one had to be false. There was no way Kiba knew what it felt like to stare down one of man's barrels. No way could he have ever felt that feeling. If he had, then they'd have something to talk about..

But Naruto was a good friend so he let Kiba ramble on about his story again, in excruciating detail as both boys swam back towards their pod's place. He called him out on a few fibs here and there, but at the same time, his mind was elsewhere.

Man was a species to avoid but not expressly forbidden to interact with. More like, silently forbidden to interact with. There hasn't been any rules made regarding mans, but when one was swimming by, especially on their boats, the adults always kept a closer eye on everything, parents recommended children not go anywhere near the surface, and more bodyguards would be swimming around. This is because of man's special toys. They have taken out a few mermaids with their toys. The bodies would always sink to the floor, wounds ranging from a single hole with something in it, to a grisly scene of guts pouring out.

His dad was an example of the latter scene. Naruto discreetly shuddered and lowered his eyes in remembrance, His mom had a nice, clean death, since she was taken away by a sudden complication inside of her. But his dad was unrecognizable remains beneath the rocky floor. Despite what everyone said Naruto didn't believe that it was humans. There was no proof. No smoky scent, no lingering scraps of metal, just his father's remains. He believed it was a pod of sharks that attacked his father during a moment of vulnerability. He was grieving over the death of his mate a few days ago after all. Obviously he wasn't going to be at the top of his swimming condition.

But sharks were a different kind of danger. They were a constant presence and so the mermaid pod of Fire Island has learned their tricks and how to counter them. Even Naruto could tackle a group of small-sized sharks that have decided to band together or one or two medium-sized sharks. Mans were dangerous because it was hard to encounter them and you never knew all of their tricks. And as a result, all of the mermaids avoided going to the surface with them around unless it was absolutely necessary.

Well...Except Naruto of course. With no one to officially be guardian to the young adult, swimming to the surface and back was one of the things Naruto had over all of his friends with a parent. He's already seen so many mans off of this one island. And he's begun categorizing them based off of their mannerisms and their reactions to his playfulness. And there was a reason he was doing this that he couldn't explain to the others just yet.

He hasn't been caught yet, though he's become close to losing his life a few times. But he always slips away on purpose. He's still training and once he's ready, he'll tackle his big plan!

To defeat a human...Now that would guarantee him the Hokage position.

* * *

And done!

So this ends the little prologue of sorts. Next chapter Naruto and the captain will meet and the main antagonists will receive a mention!

Chomei's a perv. Kurama can be ruthless. And Naruto was made an orphan in a brutal way. But it's still gonna be light-hearted :D. Just with a few dark elements.

Alright so let me say that as long as I have had this story in my mind I'm still planning it out. Hell I even made some last minute changes right before I uploaded this piece! It won't be as bad(or take as slow) as Demons Can Love Too though. Just saying that I might need just a little time as I figure out how everything is going to come together.

THough an adventure WILL happen. I have the bad guys in mind, reasons for why the story will move away from Fire Island/Konoha and take us travelling, etc.

Little things, like the terminology and stuff will be difficult :P. But I already have an idea for the language and some terms though :D!

**Fun fact**: Originally Minato was supposed to be alive. But then I thought that would be too much like October 10th so at the last second(read: an hour ago) he was killed brutally :(. Someday I will write a story where Kushina is alive lol.

And yeah that's it. Don't know when this will be updated again. Please check my profile for everything regarding story updates and stuff.

Hope you enjoyed this prologue! Please let me know what you think of it!


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